Iron Man’s death the inspiration behind Mr. Peanut’s Super Bowl ad
By Kareem Gantt
We now know what was the root cause behind the controversial Mr. Peanut Super Bowl ad — Iron Man’s death in Avengers: Endgame.
We now know what drove the folks at Planters to kill off Mr. Peanut in a commercial that stirred up so many emotions.
His name is Iron Man.
As many may remember, Iron Man was killed off in Avengers: Endgame, a death that also sparked many emotions, especially considering that Iron Man was the flagship superhero of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Granted, Mr. Peanut isn’t on the same level as Iron Man, but he is still a beloved mascot that didn’t deserve to go out the way he did.
More from Show Snob
- The Santa Clauses season 2, episode 6 recap “Wanga Banga Langa!”
- Lawmen: Bass Reeves season 1, episode 7 preview: Non-spoiler thoughts for Part VII
- Goosebumps season 1, episode 6 recap: “Night of the Living Dummy”
- Beacon 23 season 1, episode 3 recap: “Why Can’t We Go on as Three?”
- Upload season 3, episode 2 recap: “Strawberry”
Screen Rant, in trying to make sense of it all, dove into a short troy of how Mr. Peanut’s story of an untimely death came to be. It didn’t take me by surprise that Planters would take this route, but it still took many by shock that Planters would kill off its 104-year-old mascot all in the name of viral marketing. Then again, that was the whole plan after all.
When you kill off such an iconic character as Mr. Peanut, many are going to stand up and take notice of that; and in the age of “anything can be marketable,” Planters took a risky move to say goodbye to its longtime mascot. The Mr. Peanut ads were marketed as a boon for the snack company, but many will have to head to YouTube to see the commercial as Kobe Bryant’s untimely death forced Planters to pull the ad.
Next. 25 Essential episodes to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Voyager. dark
Make no mistake that once the shock over Bryant’s death wanes, Planters will have this commercial back on the air, ready to make us mad all over again. It’s all in the name of viral marketing in the television business, which is why Planters can’t possibly let this ad campaign go. It’s poured in too much funding to let it die now.